Life on the streets: Documentary to illustrate day-to-day struggles of homeless children

Friday

Jan 17, 2014 at 12:01 AMJan 17, 2014 at 7:47 AM

When it comes to the plight of homeless children, you could call Michael Leoni a kindred spirit.

Will MacDonald / Life Editor

When it comes to the plight of homeless children, you could call Michael Leoni a kindred spirit.

The driving force behind the documentary “American Street Kid” – which puts a face on the plight of the 1.8 million children and teens living on the streets – can relate to their plight.

“When I was 19, I lost my job and was having a tough time,” he said. “I had lost my apartment, and I didn’t have a dime to my name. I had too much pride to call my family.”

He might not have been talking to his parents at the time, but he struck up conversations with homeless kids and they shared the experiences they encounter every day on the streets – from earning money through prostitution to trying to avoid predators.

“As I listened, I realized this is kind of what my life could be,” he said. “I came up with the idea of taking their stories and putting them into a play.”

As Leoni, who has a background in theater, and business partner Michelle Kaufer worked to bring the show to the stage in Los Angeles, a defining moment took him from playwright to activist.

“We were auditioning for ‘The Playground,’ and a kid started walking past us with a mattress on his head,” he said.

Leoni pursued the youth to find out his story and, before what they had done really sunk in, he and Kaufer ended up taking him into their home.

“We weren’t prepared for the mental stuff that was going on in his life,” said Leoni. But they hung in there and have gone on to take in other children.

The rock music-infused show, resonated with street kids.

“They would come to the show, and I would meet them,” he said. “They connected with the characters and said the play got it right.”

When an offer came to make a public service announcement on the subject, Leoni and Kaufer jumped at the opportunity. But as they began working on it, they realized there was much more to the story than the two-minute spot would allow.

That’s the genesis of “American Street Kid.” Filming started in 2009. Leoni interviewed close to 400 homeless children, many of them with what he describes as “amazing stories.” The final product will follow the lives of eight of them, including one who went on to get a job and move into an apartment.

But the stories don’t all have happy endings, and part of that is because of the circumstances the subjects find themselves in.

The problems often start before the children become homeless, according to Leoni and Kaufer.

“These kids go through an awful lot before getting on the streets,” said Kaufer.

Adds Leoni: “It’s a parenting issue in most cases. There is no parenting.”

Cracking through the tough facade of many of the subjects could be a challenge, but wasn’t a surprise considering the way they were living their lives.

“They are quick to give you a surface answer because they have to protect themselves,” Leoni said. “They put up a wall. When you find someone who ran away at 9 or 10, sometimes you feel like you’re talking to a 40-year-old but you know deep down they’re still a child.”

In making the movie, Leoni and Kaufer hope to convey how hard the day-to-day life is for homeless children.

“They sleep on roofs, under freeway overpasses,” Leoni said. “They have to get up early and gather up all their stuff, maybe enough to put in a bookbag, hide it, then travel for the day. They might try to get in line at an outreach center for a shower or try to get a snack and then they have to come up with money to get them by for the rest of the day. It all boils down to this: Find the money, find the food, find a place to sleep. Being homeless is a full-time job. All day long you’re figuring out things we take for granted.”

Often the youth he talked to revealed a fear of staying in shelters with adults.

“Homeless adults have their own problems, and homeless kids and adults just don’t mix,” said Leoni.

Many people don’t realize how hard it is for a teen to get off the streets.

“A lot of people say, well, they’re 18, they should go get a job, that’s the general feeling for a lot of people that have not been exposed to this community. But think about it, they’re really had no adjustment into adulthood. They have no paperwork, no address. They can’t open a bank account. They can’t go to DMV. They’ve lived their whole lives feeling like they’ve been abandoned. They end up asking, ‘Why does it matter anyway’”

Despite the sobering subject material, both he and Kaufer have a sense of optimism about the future.

“Hope comes when you see a kid who starts believing that you care about them,” said Kaufer.

Leoni’s hopes the takeaway from the documentary is that working together people can make a difference.

“Imagine if there were hundreds of people who had this knowledge, who volunteered at outreach centers. Can you solve youth homelessness? I’m not sure. But I think you can certainly start by eliminating some of the damages.”

He points to the Gaston County experience where churches and community organizations have teamed up to combat homelessness. And that’s how it should be.

“After all, when it all comes down to it, it’s always going to be a local issue,” he said.

WANT TO HELP? To make a donation to the “American Street Kid” documentary, visit www.americanstreetkid.com and click on the “donate” link.

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